Top speed and new builder for the VX One
by Nathan Batchelor, Ovington Boats 24 Apr 2014 16:19 BST
10 April 2014
The VX One sportsboat © Tom Gruitt /
www.tom-gruitt.co.uk
A great weekend in Ullswater – plenty of wind and flat water has led to Ullswater YC members smashing the UK VX One speed record. It was a family affair with Flying 15 sailors Dave, Sue and Tom Giles raising the record to 21.3 knots over 10 seconds!
Dave came ashore grinning, "I've raced all sorts of boats for over 40 years and the VX One was a real joy! It was very responsive and easy to handle from the start but with a great turn of speed - yet was really manageable in big, gusty winds."
Lester Noble, former International Canoe Champion and 49er sailor added, "By far the easiest boat I've ever sailed in extreme conditions. Gybing is a doddle, partly by virtue of sailing into the gybe at 20 knots!"
The facilities at Ullswater YC made launching and recovering the boats off launching trollies very straightforward. We're looking forward to racing at the Birkett this season.
Over 30 boats have been built here in the UK to same exacting standards. To cope with the worldwide demand for VX One's a second builder has come online. Mackay Boats in Auckland have started to build boats from moulds built and supplied by Ovington's. Having 2 Olympic class builders will help the class grow quickly internationally with high quality boats.
More UK orders have come in over last few weeks and we now have 8 entries lined up for the inaugural VX One Nationals. Planning for the 2014 Nationals (26-28 September) is well underway in the capable hands of the Royal Torbay Yacht Club.
VX One on the Ovington Boats website
The VX One is a 2 to 3 person keelboat with a light, easily driven hull by an efficient sail plan set on a full carbon rig. The boat can be launched simply off a dinghy style trolley or craned in using a single point lifting strop.
The off the boom mainsheet gives a huge uncluttered cockpit, whilst the self-tacking jib makes gybes easy when sailing 2 up. The jib furls for easy launching and recovery and for short-handed sailing or playing with the family. The spinnaker is launched using a single line hoist / retrieval line making the process easy for anyone and a large chute mouth reduces friction.
www.ovingtonboats.com/index.php/shop/vxone.html